Goldman Files Censure Against Stefanik for Calling Jan. 6 Defendants ‘Hostages’

Representative Dan Goldman, Democrat of New York, on Wednesday planned to file a formal censure of Representative Elise Stefanik, Republican of New York, accusing her of peddling voter fraud conspiracy theories that fueled the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol and supporting rioters who violently threatened members of Congress, referring to them as “hostages.”

Mr. Goldman’s resolution marked the latest instance of a lawmaker using what was once a rare form of congressional punishment — a public reprimand just short of expulsion that historically has been used against members only after a criminal conviction or finding of wrongdoing — to condemn the speech of a colleague.

Appearing on “Meet The Press” this month to mark the third anniversary of the Capitol assault, Ms. Stefanik said she harbored “concerns about the treatment of the Jan. 6 hostages,” echoing former President Donald J. Trump’s use of the term to describe his supporters who have been imprisoned for trespassing and assaulting police officers that day.

Ms. Stefanik, who previously called on the Justice Department to prosecute those responsible, also said during the interview that “we’re seeing the weaponization of the federal government against not just President Trump, but we’re seeing it against conservatives.”

Democrats have widely condemned her use of the word “hostages” to refer to hundreds of individuals who were found guilty of crimes related to the assault on the Capitol.

Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader, said that Ms. Stefanik “should be ashamed of herself.” Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, who served as a member of the House panel that investigated the Jan. 6 attack, speculated on social media that she